From her late-'50s start as a gospel thrush to her career as a New York – based backup singer to her early-'60s Brill Building discovery by Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick has led an extraordinary life, one artfully examined tonight in the new documentary Being Dionne Warwick. With the benefit of those perfected Bacharach-David songs, Warwick became a critical pop culture siren, one whose impeccable, uptown pop style served as an illuminating, unifying beacon of class and cool during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. And her crossover reign on both pop and R&B charts at the height of Beatlemania was altogether unparalleled – during the Summer of Love, she sold a million copies of “I Say a Little Prayer.” Warwick later went to bat for AIDS victims, raising more than $3 million for research with her benefit single “That's What Friends Are For.” (Remember, kiddies, in 1985, such activity was still almost taboo.) Of course, there's so much more: her fiery temper, the infamous bust for those 11 joints concealed in a lipstick tube, her unforgettable “Psychic Friends Network” infomercials. She will participate in a discussion following the film, so you shall indeed get a rare, first-hand, up-close glimpse at this pop powerhouse. Grammy Museum, Clive Davis Theater, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., #A245, dwntwn.; Wed., March 19, 7 p.m.; $25. (213) 765-6800, grammymuseum.org/events/detail/being-dionne-warwick.

Wed., March 19, 7 p.m., 2014
(Expired: 03/19/14)

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.